Monsters Ball, Two Possible Outcomes
by mat528
Summary: After the events in the movie, what did happen between Leticia and Hank?


TWO POSSIBLE OUTCOMES

A/N: So the other day, I was looking at the movie "Monster's Ball". It stars Billy Bob Thornton and Hallie Berry. He plays a correctional officer who suffers the loss of his son after participating in her husband's execution. She also loses her child in addition to her husband. It is the loss that drives them together. It's a hard movie to watch, but you may want to google it and watch.

These two possible endings take place after the final scene in the movie, after Leticia (Berry) discovered that he was a part of her husband's death by finding drawings he'd made of both Hank (Thornton) and his son (the late Heath Ledger).

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, situations, or dialogue. They belong to the director and writers of the screenplay, as well as the studio, partners and any subsidiaries. This is a story written for fun, and no money is being made from this.

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Scenario One

After sitting next to Leticia, Hank ate the chocolate ice cream he'd bought for both of them. Her eyes fell on him, and for the first time, Leticia didn't know what she wanted to do. Hank talked about the sign at the gas station, but she wasn't listening.

Leticia's dark eyes fell on the headstones just beyond the house. She noticed that Hank had buried not only a woman (maybe his wife, maybe a girlfriend) and also her husband and son.

She turned her eyes back to him and studied him. Though he didn't know it, her breathing changed just a little.

Hank looked at the stars with her but then saw Leticia. As a boy, he'd always come out at night and stared at the stars when he was lonely, or sad. Everytime he'd looked at the endless parade of lights, he knew that as long as they were there, things would go on, and be all right.

Leticia was like the stars; in fact, he decided, she was the only star for him. "We're gonna be okay," he affirmed, handing her the spoon. She took a taste of the chocolaty goodness, letting it slide down her throat.

But, for her, it was too soon. He took another bite of the ice cream and offered more. Wordlessly, Leticia went into the house, letting the door slam.

Hank got up slowly, still holding the bowl and spoon in his hand. He followed her to the kitchen. Leticia was letting the water run in the sink, lowering her hand in the water, brushing her face with it.

Hank came up behind her, his hand touching her shoulder. Leticia jerked away. Hank was confused; what could be wrong with her now?

He knew if he probed the wrong way, she'd leave. Not wanting to be alone again, he asked the obvious. "You okay?"

"No," she said, backing away toward the stairs to the attic.

"What's wrong? What's going on?" He asked, struggling not to show his fear.

Leticia went upstairs to the attic and grabbed the pictures her late husband had drawn of Hank and, presumably, his son.

**This!** She shouted, throwing them at him. Hank caught the drawings, not needing to see them. Leticia went downstairs toward the living room. He didn't waste any time following her.

When he got close enough, she shoved him back, shouting, "What the he—is this? Why'd you wanna be with me, huh? Was it just for the thrill of bein' with the little Black girl, or did you just want more notches on your sex board?"

Hank grabbed her hand, and turned her away so that she was in front of him, but Leticia wouldn't be put off. She fought her way out of his grip and sank down on the old couch in the living room, heaving, with angry sobs.

"You didn't answer my question!" She accused. Hank grabbed some tissues from the box on the nightstand.

He sat down on a rickety wooden chair across from her. "Maybe cause…I can't," he said simply. They both took deep breaths before Leticia calmed down. Hank followed suit.

Looking away, he said, "I admit it, I was there." His eyes found hers. "Was in corrections, where your husband was. Me and my son, we walked him down. But Sonny couldn't go through with it. Fainted right there."

"So what?" Leticia asked, angry. "That's supposed to make you be a saint or something?"

"No," Hank said. "Just…I don't know….I wanted his last walk to be…dignified."

"You coulda saved him," she said more quietly.

"How?" Hank was now incredulous. "I'm not the governor!"

"But you didn't have to do it!" She shouted.

Hank had finally become as angry as she was. "I had a job to do and I did it!" He snapped.

But after the outburst, he sighed. "For what it's worth, my whole heart wasn't in it. That's why I quit."

It was then that Leticia remembered something Hank said earlier that night. "That's when you got the gas station."

"Yeah," he said. "Couldn't do that other job anymore." Leticia didn't know what to do with that just yet, so she settled for sitting in the easy chair that was by the wooden one.

After a long moment, Hank admitted, "I'm not proud of what I was before. I did it for my Pappy…but I know that's no excuse." He looked at her, his eyes boring through hers.

"I was horrible to Sonny, my son, and he…died because of it," Hank said, not wanting to share what happened. "I felt so alone, like when his Mom died."

Leticia nodded…that feeling she knew all too well.

"And Pappy wasn't gonna be no help, so I just…drove. And then, I saw you," Hank said. "'Didn't want to get involved at first, looking at you holding your son. But…I had to."

"Why?" She asked.

"Still trying to figure that one out," Hank replied. He sat on the couch. She remained where she was.

"When I came into the diner, I just wanted to think," he said. "I didn't know I would meet you every night. Didn't know I'd take ice cream from you. Didn't know I'd…like you."

"I started changin'," Hank confessed. "Little by little. And, I wasn't who I was before."

He hung his head down suddenly, looking at the papers with the drawings and said in a low voice, "Tomorrow, I'll find someone who's trustworthy…someone who won't charge a lot of rent. And, if you want, I'll move your furniture to your new house."

Leticia didn't say a word. She opened her mouth, but nothing would come out. She closed it again, and then got up and went into the kitchen while his head was still bowed.

He raised it, trying to see where she was. Minutes later, she came back with the carton of chocolate ice cream from the refrigerator and one plastic spoon. She offered some to him and he took a big bite. After that, she took a smaller one.

"No," she said. "I never much liked movin'." She went to his room and left the door open. Hank followed, knowing somehow that things would truly be okay.


End file.
